"I'm scared for you," I said instead. "I watched you walk toward that dragon, and I felt helpless. I couldn't protect you from him. I couldn't even speak. You can't imagine how devastating it felt to watch you with him."
Her expression softened, and she reached for my hand, lacing her fingers through mine. "I know, and I love you for how much you care, but you have to trust me. I'm not reckless, Alar. Morgateth is exactly the dragon I need. He's powerful enough to feed me all the energy I could ever consume without tapping out or burning out. He's also experienced and fierce enough to protect me from the threats we both know are coming."
She was right.
On every practical level, she was right. Morgateth was arguably the most powerful dragon in the force after Nyxath. Fora shaman-in-training who needed a dragon's strength to fuel her prophetic abilities, the match made perfect sense.
But logic and practical considerations aside, Morgateth was dangerous. Even if he wasn't guilty of murdering his riders, he might be guilty of being reckless and causing their accidental deaths.
Kailin must have sensed that I needed a moment, because she let the silence sit between us while she returned to the mirror and finished her hair, fashioning an elegant updo with the tight braids she'd woven earlier.
"By the way," she broke the silence after a while. "Did you see the rescue flight deploy?"
"I didn't, but when Veynathei landed and I dismounted, I heard Captain Odinah talking about it with Captain Shevrak. Something about an avalanche near the Tarinian border and Elurian civilians stranded." I shook my head. "These mountains are a death trap, and yet every year some fools venture out there, Elurion knows for what. Prove that they are brave?"
Kailin shrugged. "I guess. Since Commander Langston devoted so much time to teaching us about the rescue treaty protocols, those kinds of things must be happening often. That's how I immediately knew what the red flare meant. Morgateth contacted Nyxath, and she dispatched the rescue team before the alert even reached the Citadel through the official channels."
"That must have significantly cut the response time. It could have been the difference between the rescuers getting to the victims in time or not."
"Morgateth said that we saved them at least an hour." She secured the last pin in her hair. "We watched the flight pass us on their way to the border."
"Do you know who was stranded up there?"
"No. Probably hikers or climbers who ventured too high."
They were probably Tarinians. Tarina was the only Elurian province that shared a direct border with Elucia, and that mountain range was such a formidable natural barrier that the Elucians didn't even post guards on their side of the border. Those mountains were treacherous, with unstable cornices and seismic activity that was known to trigger sudden avalanches.
"Whoever they were, they were lucky you were in the air to see their flare," I said.
She chuckled. "They were lucky that Morgateth wanted to show off by flying all the way to the border on our first outing."
I grimaced. "Your dragon took you on a two-hour joyride to the edge of Elucia on your first flight together, and you're wondering why I'm worried about you."
"It wasn't dangerous. Morgateth knows these mountains better than anyone."
"Says who? Morgateth?"
Kailin flinched, and I immediately regretted my sharp tone. "I'm sorry." I rubbed my face with both hands. "I should stop criticizing your choice. I need to learn to live with it."
Sighing, she came to sit beside me and took my hand. "Tell me about Veynathei."
The redirect was so transparent that it almost made me laugh.
"Don't do that," I said.
"Do what?"
"Change the subject by asking me something you know I'll want to talk about. I know what you're doing, and I don't appreciate being managed."
She had the grace to look caught out. "I wasn't managing you. You said that you needed to accept my choice, which was very smart, and it made me think that I need to learn more about the new female who I would be sharing you with from now on."
"Admit it, you just want me to stop talking about Morgateth."
"Both are true."
I knew it was time to drop the argument about Morgateth and move on, but it wasn't in my nature to acquiesce so easily. Still, if I knew what was good for me and for my relationship with Kailin, I'd better drop it.
"Veynathei is extraordinary," I said. "She's very young, becoming eligible for bonding only this year, but there's a wisdom in her beyond her years. I wasn't doing a great job protecting my thoughts, and she found out who I was in the first thirty seconds of our interaction."
